Dr.MarleneVallin

She was born in Schenectady, N.Y., on Oct. 3, 1934, the daughter of John and Anna Boyd.

For over 40 years, Marlene enriched the lives of all whom she met, especially her students. The first half of those years, Marlene stimulated secondary students as teacher, English department head, and Director of Speech and Theatre. For the second half of her teaching years, Marlene taught speech at the university level, reaching out to make others aware of their potential to influence others and discover themselves at the same time. Marlene believed "the skill of being able to reckon with one's reality in a highly complex, ever changing world is, I believe, the secret to successful living." Once retired from Penn State, Marlene became a communication consultant and worked with large companies and their senior leaders.

Marlene was a noted author, lecturer, and public speaker. Her two books "Mark Twain: Protagonist for the Popular Culture" and "Margaret Chase Smith: Model Public Servant" were two volumes in the Great American Orators of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries series published by Greenwood Press. The research by Marlene on Twain and Smith resulted in the presentation of several convention papers and the publication of manuscripts, two of which were published in prestigious national journals.

Marlene was a 1952 graduate of Bay Ridge High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. She earned several other advanced degrees: B.A. Brooklyn College, 1956; M.S. Queens College, 1959; M.Ed, the former North Adams State College (now MCLA), 1973, and Ph.D., Penn State, 1983.

She is survived by her two children, David Vallin of Berwyn, Pa., and Allison Kostovick of New Gloucester, Maine, and four grandchildren, Blythe Vallin, Brooke Vallin, Jackson Kostovick and Boyd Kostovick.

She was predeceased by her husband, Richard Vallin, and by her siblings, John Boyd, Jr., Joan O'Keefe and Robert Boyd.

FUNERAL NOTICE: Services will be Monday, May 6, 2013, at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 191 Elm St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. There will be no calling hours.

Notify Friends and Family

Add the email addresses of friends or family members you'd like to notify about this obituary.

To: *Invalid To Email

From: *Invalid From Email

Message:

Optional

Please provide me with special offers and discounts from Legacy.com and selected partners.Emails will be sent directly from Legacy.com. We respect your privacy and will not sell your information to a third party. You may opt out at any time. See privacy policy for details.